Her
by HannahBandana
Summary: This story takes place many years after the current timeline of the show. Andi, Buffy, Cyrus, and Jonah are all 17, and Amber is 19. Andi and Jonah have been dating steadily for about four years. Four years prior to this story, photos had gotten out of Amber kissing a girl at summer camp along with text messages involving her feelings towards Andi.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was five o' clock in the morning and Amber was lazily shoving clothes into a duffel bag. The zipper was of an unreliable nature; every time she attempted to zip the bag, the little piece of metal got stuck within the fabric. It was the last thing Amber needed on that day. The night before, she had gone to bed hoping for a good morning. She told herself she would listen to music as she packed up the room, and then go get a lemonade from her favorite café on campus. But when she woke up, the only thoughts she owned were bleak. She tore the last of her posters off the walls and gave an awkward hug goodbye to her roommate. Then she left the room for the last time and turned in her key. It was officially summer, or more fervently known to Amber as the worst three months of her life.

Salt Lake City was a poetic place. Driving in was similar to entering a lengthy, hazy dream, but it was a pleasant dream nonetheless. Amber remembered when she used to experience that phenomenon herself. Now the forlorn place welcomed her time and time again with ridicule. Every time she came home from college for the summer, she was met with the eternal backlash of those pictures and texts. Amber knew she was gay and wouldn't have been ashamed of it if it hadn't been for the way it was cruelly brought into the light. She still didn't know who leaked everything, and it had been four years. She didn't leave the house much when she was home, and conditioned herself to be content with a miniscule dose of human contact. But she was still hopeful for one thing.

 _Her._

Amber restrained herself from saying her name, as it had the power to destroy her completely. She knew she could never have her; Amber was sure she wasn't gay and she was in a relationship. With Jonah Beck. With these thoughts clouding her mind, she drove into her driveway, and already felt eyes on her. It was something she could never escape so long as she lived in Salt Lake, and she was beginning to make preparations to move out permanently.

"I'll see you tomorrow, I love you."

"I love you too."

Andi accepted the kiss from Jonah as she left his house and walked towards her car. Once behind the wheel, she felt her phone buzz; Jonah had tagged her in a picture. She opened it and saw the familiar photo of the pair kissing in front of the big window overlooking the lush backyard in Jonah's living room. Andi immediately locked her phone, leaving Jonah's post void of a like from her. She decided to take the long way home through the park. She needed to think about the thing that had been plaguing her for four years now. She knew she should be overjoyed with the past few years of her life, she was dating the guy that everyone wanted, and he was completely in love with her. Jonah's social media accounts were full of pictures of Andi, and in the past year he shared several talks with her concerning their future together. Andi knew she should be thrilled, but she wasn't.

Ever since those texts of Amber's got out, things were different. Andi stored Amber's onscreen words away into a deep corner of her mind. It was her favorite activity to think about them, and to feel herself forget about Jonah in the process. Just picturing the blonde girl in her head sent shivers down her spine, but also filled her with a foreign yet extreme yearning. Andi knew deep down that Amber did something to her, and that that thing was love. And it terrified her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Due to a vicious lack of money and the bankruptcy of the clothing store where she had worked for the past three summers, Amber had no choice but to resume her job at The Spoon. The place held a negative connotation for her; so much of her past resided there. It was the very place where she helplessly fell head over heels for the girl that she had never gotten over. The worst part was that she would definitely see her there along with all of her friends. Including Jonah. Amber hadn't seen her ex since the initial incident involving her leaked texts and pictures. It was funny; back then, she never would have imagined that she would one day be jealous of him. But, he had exactly what she longed for. _Who_ she longed for.

Andi and Jonah were sitting in his car, overlooking the park, when he told her the news. A few weeks before school ended, he was interviewed for a paid 3-week marine biology internship in Hawaii over the summer. He didn't think it went well, so he and Andi put it out of their minds. Come to find out, Jonah was the first pick, and would be leaving for Hawaii in a few days should he accept the invitation.

"I just don't know if I want to leave you for that long. I can't stand not being with you." Jonah said as he clutched Andi's hand. Andi just stared at him in thought. She was searching within herself for that spark she used to feel so deeply. Her eyes went to his dimples; she always melted for them. But recently, even they no longer did it for her.

"Babe? Are you okay?" He asked, staring deeply into her eyes.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." She knew she was the farthest thing from it.

Jonah leaned in to kiss her and then said, "I think I'm gonna go, just because my parents will kill me if I don't. But I promise to facetime every night. I love you so much."

Andi couldn't say it back, so she just pretended to be too choked up to say anything. Jonah wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. He went to work kissing her neck; he never said goodbye to her without leaving a hickey that Bex would later laugh at. In his arms, in his car, in his life. Andi peered over him out through the driver's side window. She stared up at the starry sky, and couldn't think of anything but Amber. And of the relief she felt of Jonah's going away. She was disgusted with herself for having these thoughts and feelings. As Jonah pulled away from her and began to remove his shirt, she let a single tear fall.

It had become routine of Amber to scroll through a certain someone's Facebook before starting her shift at The Spoon. She didn't _want_ to see her there, but she also did. She had played the possible scenarios over and over in her head. The worst being met by an icy glare, and maybe even a confrontation. The best being them being able to talk, and the obscure hope that maybe Amber's crush wasn't one-sided. Nevertheless, it was almost two-thirty and it wouldn't look good for her to be late again. Her old boss at The Spoon wasn't exactly thrilled with hiring Amber again, but he knew how desperate she was. So, she stepped into her waitress' dress and checked herself out in the mirror. She dabbed on a bit of makeup and played with her hair. She always made herself look especially good before her shifts, just in case.

Andi was starving. It was a damn shame that the drive back home from the airport was close to an hour long. Jonah was officially gone, on a plane heading towards Hawaii. He promised to call her as soon as he landed. The night before, Andi slept over his house, to the surprising approval of his parents. They watched all of Jonah's favorite movies, cuddled, and drank beer stolen from his older brother's room. In the early morning, around two am, they realized they had both drank too much. Unfortunately, this led to Jonah being in the mood, and because Andi still fostered the immense guilt of her current emotional situation, she let him go all the way. For the first time. It was quick. She hated every second of it. It just felt wrong, and she knew why. Now she was driving home from the airport, tears in her eyes. When she got back to the house, she was going to tell Bex everything. But first she had to get something in her stomach. She decided on The Spoon.


End file.
